taxi to john o groats

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

bianchi1

Guru
Location
malverns
I have decided to cycle Johno groats to lands end in the summer as i have a week without my children and fancy the challenge. I am based in the midlands so i am flying up to inverness on saturday 16 August then a taxi the rest of the way to the start. If anyone happens to be going the same time there is space in the taxi for a few more bikes. I know this is a long shot but what the hell, i am going anyway so if anyone out there needs a taxi share let me know.
 
Why don't you ask one of our MANY Scottish friends for a lift? :smile:
 
OP
OP
bianchi1

bianchi1

Guru
Location
malverns
Bit of a cheek!! its a 250 mile around trip i think. Taxi is going to charge me £150 plus, but i am a bit tight on time so its my best option. Coaches cant take bike, train is difficult etc. Havent even thought how i am going to get back from lands end. Still if the sun is out a few days in cornwall wont kill me.
 

redfox

New Member
Location
Bourne End, UK
I did a similar thing Inverness Taxis took me and my bike in the back of an Espace for about £100, but petrol was a lot cheaper five years ago.

It is expensive but, if you only have a week, you don't want to spend two days getting to the start.
 

redfox

New Member
Location
Bourne End, UK
bonj said:
there is apparently a train station in wick you know...

I investigated this at the time, it didn't work out flying from Luton to Inverness.

Unless you can clear baggage collection, reassemble your bike and cycle the ten miles to the middle of Inverness in 50 minutes, the train from Inverness to Wick a non-starter.

Also the your bike doesn't go on the train, they cart it up to Wick in a van. So you have to hang around and wait for it, re-assemble (again) and then cycle the 17 last miles.
 
OP
OP
bianchi1

bianchi1

Guru
Location
malverns
Good info. Cheers. Had looked into rail a bit a while ago but i thought there were issues with getting to the station from the airport. Will have another look into it. rail info only runs until 3 August so far, but it does look like it may be promising.....Do i trust the rail!!
 
OP
OP
bianchi1

bianchi1

Guru
Location
malverns
Beat me to it redfox. Although it does look as if you can take a bike on the train now.
 

bonj2

Guest
well i'd have got the train all the way - getting a plane for an intra-uk journey? :sad: not worth the hassle in my book - specially with a bike. But each to his own.
 

bonj2

Guest
bianchi1 said:
Good info. Cheers. Had looked into rail a bit a while ago but i thought there were issues with getting to the station from the airport. Will have another look into it. rail info only runs until 3 August so far, but it does look like it may be promising.....Do i trust the rail!!

you can phone up scotch rail or whatever the operator is and ask them. If they don't, they don't. If they do, they do- and you've saved yourself quite a lot of money as looking online the train's only a tenner.
 

redfox

New Member
Location
Bourne End, UK
bonj said:
well i'd have got the train all the way - getting a plane for an intra-uk journey? :sad: not worth the hassle in my book - specially with a bike. But each to his own.

Agreed, I really wanted to use the train, but it was going to take two days to get there. Also, as there were two of us, the combined cost of the flights and taxi was considerably less the train!
 
OP
OP
bianchi1

bianchi1

Guru
Location
malverns
Have travelled by plane with my bike once or twice a year for the last 6 years without a hitch. Easy to book, fast, efficient, cheep, all the things the rail network should be....but are not. I could get the train from birmingham to inverness/wick but the timetables are not out for some parts of the journey yet. As This has to be a planned in advance, I cant wait untill the last week to decide, as if its not possible the flight price by then will have gone through the roof. The rail say i can take my bike on some sections of the route.. but not others, or only if it is quiet! The flight option..£15 extra baggage, on it goes!
A quick look shows me that to get to inverness by rail (on a date before i want to go! ) would cost 4 times the flight cost and take 11 hours and 'stage 3' of the journey is a walk through birmingham!
 

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
redfox said:
I investigated this at the time, it didn't work out flying from Luton to Inverness.

Unless you can clear baggage collection, reassemble your bike and cycle the ten miles to the middle of Inverness in 50 minutes, the train from Inverness to Wick a non-starter.

Also the your bike doesn't go on the train, they cart it up to Wick in a van. So you have to hang around and wait for it, re-assemble (again) and then cycle the 17 last miles.

You overestimate the speed of the train. The van is quicker. My bike was ready ands waiting for me at Thurso. Shame the van driver wouldn't let me travel with the bike ;)
 
I was about to post this question. I am riding a LEJOG from 2nd - 17th August and will need to get to the station in Wick from JOG to get a train on the morning of the 17th (a Sunday). Your taxi could take me and my friend back down to Wick from JOG on the Saturday evening if that helps. Our plans aren't set in stone just yet as I am currently reworking the mileages, but it's a thought. Even better we could take the taxi back to Inverness on the Sat night and fly down to Brum the next day, but we'd have the problem of bike bags...unless you want to recycle the ones you use to come up on the plane... we should PM about this.
 
Top Bottom